A Texas marketing executive who got lost for more than a day and fell prey to heat exhaustion while on a hike through a state park desert under a searing sun in mid-June drank from a puddle and ate tadpoles to survive, according to a compelling report of his ordeal.
Jeff Hahn’s tale, as told to the publication Texas Highways, defied the deadly outcomes that other hikers in peril have met in recent months, when the climate crisis fueled the US’s summer of record-breaking heat.
Notably, at a national park in Texas also in June, a teenage boy died after falling ill as he hiked in temperatures of 119F (48.3C). The boy’s stepfather was then killed after crashing his car while desperately searching for help.
Separately, in late October, a 71-year-old hiker was found dead next to his still-living dog after going missing during a hike on a Colorado mountain.
Hahn told Texas Highways that he credited “three miracles” for his survival after heat-inflicted leg and full-body cramps knocked him off his feet while hiking Big Bend Ranch state park with his adult daughter Harper. It was 107F (41.7C) in the little bits of shade available at the park that day, a report of his eventual rescue indicated.
“There’s not a blade of grass. There’s no trees,” Hahn, 59, said in the publication’s report on Monday. “You’re exposed. There’s no place to hide.”
The pair had no cellphone service; and unsure of how far the trailhead might be, they decided Harper would hike ahead for help. Yet while experts recommend people in such situations stay put, the distressed Hahn kept moving, believing he gave himself a better shot at being saved if he reduced the distance between himself and any potential rescuers.
Harper returned with the park superintendent on an all-terrain vehicle at about 7.30pm that day, but there was no sign of her father.
Meanwhile, he had first sought refuge in an old mining shack and uncovered what he regarded as his first miracle: two bottles with a liter of water each resting on a windowsill. They were covered in a layer of dust, but they were still sealed, enabling him to drink from them safely.
Hahn then tried plodding through the dark desert after sunset. He eventually tripped on a rock and broke one of his wrists, but the mishap worked to his advantage, as Texas Highways noted.
He landed next to a large rock that, he noticed, had collected a pool of water on top. Lying facedown and unable to stand, Hahn used the straw attached to his hydration backpack to drink from the rock puddle. He eventually underwent a 20-minute process to get himself upright again and keep moving into the next day.
Rescue crews were searching for Hahn with the help of a plane and helicopters when he spotted what he described as the third miracle: a stream next to a pool filled with tadpoles.
Hahn recounted being so hungry at that point that he removed his hat, dipped it into the pool, scooped up a couple of the tadpoles, and ate them. He joked that he was so famished he went into “full Naked and Afraid” mode, alluding to the reality series in which two disrobed strangers try to survive in the wild without being given food or water.
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Soon, a plane and a helicopter approached Hahn. They made multiple passes, and Hahn feared they had not seen him when he heard a rescuer on foot call his voice.
Hahn was ultimately brought back to the trailhead “dirty and pale, but alive”, Texas Highways reported. He had been lost for 27 hours.
Texas Highways reported that heat deaths in national parks across the US appear to be on the rise, according to federal government data. State and national parks in Texas registered at least six heat deaths this summer, the publication also reported.
It listed a number of hiking safety tips. Topping that list was advice to pack lots of water and bring salty snacks as well as sports drinks with electrolytes to fend off dehydration.
Hahn nonetheless told Texas Highways that he hopes speaking out about his story doesn’t deter people from hiking or exploring trails. He said that – with the exception of some slightly limited mobility in the wrist he broke – he has fully healed.
He added that his story shouldn’t deter people from hiking or exploring trails and that he was looking forward to returning to the Big Bend Ranch state park to replace the water bottles he took from the mining shack. He said he might take a vehicle to the shack this time, but regardless, after what he endured, “We’re going to turn ourselves into trail angels.”